Author Topic: Pro-Frugal expressions in languages  (Read 5814 times)

Linea_Norway

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Pro-Frugal expressions in languages
« on: March 10, 2017, 12:29:31 AM »
Often languages contain expressions of frugality that suggest that it in earlier times was a normal thing and even a virtue to be frugal.

Please add the expressions you know, in any language, with translation into English.

Linea_Norway

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Re: Pro-Frugal expressions in languages
« Reply #1 on: March 10, 2017, 12:32:41 AM »
Here are some that I know:

Dutch: Zuinigheid met vlijt bouwt huizen als kastelen.
English: Frugality with hard work builds houses like castles.

Dutch dialect: Ons benne zunig.
English: We are frugal.

Norwegian: Vi kaster ikke mat.
English: We don't throw away food.
« Last Edit: March 10, 2017, 05:05:53 AM by Linda_Norway »

BlueHouse

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Re: Pro-Frugal expressions in languages
« Reply #2 on: March 10, 2017, 04:39:56 AM »
English:  a penny saved is a penny earned (Ben Franklin)

Trifle

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Re: Pro-Frugal expressions in languages
« Reply #3 on: March 10, 2017, 04:40:48 AM »
English is loaded with these proverbs. 

Check out Benjamin Franklin's essay "The Way to Wealth" from 1758:  https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/coretexts/_files/resources/texts/1758%20Franklin%20Wealth.pdf.

It's great reading.  Ben was a mega-Mustachian.   :)
« Last Edit: March 10, 2017, 04:48:17 AM by Trifele »

cerat0n1a

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Re: Pro-Frugal expressions in languages
« Reply #4 on: March 10, 2017, 04:42:59 AM »
"Take care of the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves" and its complement - when someone is said to be "penny-wise, pound-foolish."

Welsh:o geiniog i geiniog a'r arian yn bunt
English: By penny and penny the money will reach a pound.

Welsh: oni chedwir y ddimai nid a hi byth yn geiniog
English: Unless the halfpenny is kept it will never become a penny

Welsh: Bydd di gynnil ar dy geiniog, Chwip yr a, hi ddaw yn ddiog.
English:Be careful with your penny,  It goes quickly, but comes slowly.

Welsh: Cystal y geiniog a gynnilaf ar geiniog a ennillaf.
English: The penny saved is as good as the penny earned.
(same as "a pound saved is a pound earned" mentioned above I guess)

Welsh: Da traul ceiniog a weryd traul dwy.
English: The penny is well spent that saves the spending of two.
(English proverb would be more like "a stitch in time saves nine")

I've also seen a German proverb "Kluge Männer suchen wirthliche Frauen"—Prudent men woo thrifty women.

Linea_Norway

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Re: Pro-Frugal expressions in languages
« Reply #5 on: March 10, 2017, 05:09:36 AM »
Welsh people must be generally frugal. :-)

A commercial expression:
Dutch: Op de markt is je gulden een daalder waard.
English: On the marked (food marked on the street) your dollar is worth 2.5 dollars.

Rural

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Re: Pro-Frugal expressions in languages
« Reply #6 on: March 10, 2017, 06:52:24 AM »
Not money specifically, but definitely tied to frugality:


English: Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.


English: A stitch in time saves nine.


English: Waste not, want not.

ETA: A fool and his money are soon parted.

Samaki Mdogo

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Re: Pro-Frugal expressions in languages
« Reply #7 on: March 10, 2017, 07:45:10 AM »
Kiswahili: Haba na haba hujaza kibaba.
English: Little by little fills the big container.

MayDay

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Re: Pro-Frugal expressions in languages
« Reply #8 on: March 10, 2017, 09:25:10 AM »
"Waste not want not" is that one I thought of.

"Money doesn't grow on trees" is what I frequently shriek at my children when they leave lights turned on or run the hot water for funsies.

Freedomin5

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Re: Pro-Frugal expressions in languages
« Reply #9 on: March 11, 2017, 05:48:05 AM »
Don't count your chickens before they hatch.

RetiredAt63

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Re: Pro-Frugal expressions in languages
« Reply #10 on: March 11, 2017, 08:13:21 AM »
And don't put all your eggs in one basket.

Linea_Norway

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Re: Pro-Frugal expressions in languages
« Reply #11 on: March 11, 2017, 11:47:44 AM »

"Money doesn't grow on trees" is what I frequently shriek at my children when they leave lights turned on or run the hot water for funsies.

In Dutch we way: Het geld groeit me niet op de rug .
English: money doesn't grow in my back.

gaja

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Re: Pro-Frugal expressions in languages
« Reply #12 on: March 11, 2017, 12:13:03 PM »
From the Elder Edda:

36.
Bú er betra,
þótt lítit sé,
halr er heima hverr;
þótt tvær geitr eigi
ok taugreftan sal,
þat er þó betra en bæn.
 
37.
Bú er betra,
þótt lítit sé,
halr er heima hverr;
blóðugt er hjarta,
þeim er biðja skal
sér í mál hvert matar.


Translation:
36.
One's own house is best, though small it may be;
each man is master at home;
though he have but two goats and a bark-thatched hut
'tis better than craving a boon.

37.
One's own house is best, though small it may be,
each man is master at home;
with a bleeding heart will he beg, who must,
his meat at every meal.

Imma

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Re: Pro-Frugal expressions in languages
« Reply #13 on: June 30, 2018, 02:36:05 PM »
Just found a link to this old thread in another topic. I know a few :)

"'t Beste wè ge kunt spaore vur oewen aauwen dag is oew èige"
Dutch (dialect) "the best thing to save for old age is yourself"

"Die krabbe ze nie bloot"
Dutch (dialect) "they won't scratch him naked"
Meaning: someone who has enough money to cover an emergency (wearing an extra layer of clothing)

"Achter zon batterééj leejde goed verzeejkerd. "
Dutch (dialect) "you are well insured if you sleep behind such a big battery [a woman's large backside]
Meaning: someone who has enough money to cover an emergency (having some extra fat to survive with little food)

Many of these old proverbs come from a time where being prepared was a matter of life or death.

CrustyBadger

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Re: Pro-Frugal expressions in languages
« Reply #14 on: June 30, 2018, 02:50:58 PM »
French:

Il n'y a pas de petites économies.  (There's no such thing as a small savings...i.e. it all adds up.)

Un sou est un sou.  (a penny is a penny...i.e. it's worth something)

John Galt incarnate!

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Re: Pro-Frugal expressions in languages
« Reply #15 on: July 02, 2018, 07:58:50 AM »
Often languages contain expressions of frugality that suggest that it in earlier times was a normal thing and even a virtue to be frugal.

Please add the expressions you know, in any language, with translation into English.



Waste not want not.

Money doesn't grow on trees.

A penny saved is a penny earned.

Hula Hoop

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Re: Pro-Frugal expressions in languages
« Reply #16 on: July 02, 2018, 08:12:56 AM »
In Italian:

A rubar poco si va in galera, a rubar tanto si fa cariera.

A person who steals a little goes to prison, a person who steals a lot makes a career.

I soldi che non sono sudati, non fanno grazie ma solo peccati.

Money that doesn't come from sweat doesn't make grace but only sins.  In other words, if money is not earned through sweat it brings sin.

Il denaro e un buon servo e un cattivo padrone.

Money is a good servent but a bad master.

SansSkill

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Re: Pro-Frugal expressions in languages
« Reply #17 on: July 02, 2018, 08:42:10 AM »
Dutch:
Wie het kleine niet eert, is het grote niet weerd.

English:
Who doesn't respect the small (things), isn't worth the big (things).

Apparantly there is an English equivelant: "He that can not keep a penny shall never have many"

Adventine

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Re: Pro-Frugal expressions in languages
« Reply #18 on: July 02, 2018, 08:57:50 AM »
Hey, I like this topic!

Filipino:
Kapag maiksi ang kumot, matuto mamaluktot.

English translation:
It's a metaphor for living within your means: "If the blanket is too short, learn to curl up [to make it fit]."


Filipino

doggyfizzle

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Re: Pro-Frugal expressions in languages
« Reply #19 on: July 02, 2018, 09:25:03 AM »
Someone is sitting in the shade today because they planted a seed a generation ago.

StiffUpperLip

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Re: Pro-Frugal expressions in languages
« Reply #20 on: July 03, 2018, 12:07:39 AM »
Mend and make do, to save buying new.

Spruit

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Re: Pro-Frugal expressions in languages
« Reply #21 on: July 03, 2018, 05:02:56 AM »
Dutch: Als het niet kan zoals het moet, dan moet het maar zoals het kan.
If it can not happen the way it should, than it has to happen the way it can.
Proverb about making do with a non-perfect situation.

Dutch: Geld maakt geld.
Money begets money

Dutch: Al draagt een aap een gouden ring, het is en blijft een lelijk ding.
Even if a monkey wears a golden ring, it is and stays an ugly thing.
Used to indicate that poshness doesn't equal beauty or worth.

Dutch: goedkoop is duurkoop.
Cheap is expensive.
Better invest in quality goods, as cheap will cost you more money down the road.



sparkytheop

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Re: Pro-Frugal expressions in languages
« Reply #22 on: July 03, 2018, 10:25:52 PM »
Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. –Thomas Edison (as a blue collar worker who makes a great income, especially for my area, I really appreciate this one.)

It is thrifty to prepare today for the wants of tomorrow. –Aesop

Rich people stay rich by living like they’re broke. Broke people stay broke by living like they’re rich.

There is no dignity quite so impressive, and no independence quite so important, as living within your means. –Calvin Coolidge

Thrift comes too late when you find it at the bottom of your purse. -Seneca

Cannot people realize how large an income is thrift?  -Cicero

I wouldn't shove that up my ass if I had room for a freight train.  (i.e.: worthless, not worth time/money/space) - my brother-in-law's father



Kaybee

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Re: Pro-Frugal expressions in languages
« Reply #23 on: July 04, 2018, 10:55:49 AM »
I’m not sure if it’s 100% on topic but “A stitch in time saves nine” (for non english speakers or those unfamiliar with the phrase, it basically means taking care of your things as you use them saves you from having to do bigger repairs later on).

Barbaebigode

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Re: Pro-Frugal expressions in languages
« Reply #24 on: July 04, 2018, 12:06:53 PM »
Portuguese:
De grão em grão a galinha enche o papo.
Grain by grain the chicken fills the maw.

Not on topic, but:
Dinheiro não traz felicidade. Me dê o seu e seja feliz.
Money doesn't bring happiness. Give me yours and be happy.

Gerard

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Re: Pro-Frugal expressions in languages
« Reply #25 on: July 04, 2018, 12:47:43 PM »
From my mom, from the north of England: "Them as 'as, gets."
(Those who have (money) already, get more (money).)

From Jack Armstrong, the Raptors commentator:
"If it's free, it's me!"
"There's no nation like donation."



dragoncar

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Re: Pro-Frugal expressions in languages
« Reply #26 on: July 04, 2018, 04:17:54 PM »
"Solen'ya": The Pickle Man, an old wives tale. He crawls from bowls of cold soup to steal the dreams of wasteful children.

RetiredAt63

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Re: Pro-Frugal expressions in languages
« Reply #27 on: July 04, 2018, 07:08:34 PM »
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

John Galt incarnate!

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Re: Pro-Frugal expressions in languages
« Reply #28 on: July 04, 2018, 08:36:09 PM »
The Bitterness of Poor Quality remains Long after the Sweetness of Low Price is Forgotten.

Quality doesn't cost: it pays.

^^^

Long ago I heard two saws that were similar to these.


Linea_Norway

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Re: Pro-Frugal expressions in languages
« Reply #29 on: July 05, 2018, 12:33:54 AM »
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

In Dutch: 1 bird in the hand is better than 10 in the air.